The purpose of this research is to examine the interrelationship of living arrangements, age, sex, marital status, income, health status, psychological well-being, food consumption and dietary intake of the U.S. noninstitutionalized adult population in order to better understand the implications of living alone on dietary patterns of the elderly. The proposed research involves secondary analysis of the National Center for Health Statistics' Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1971-1975 (HANES). Analysis focuses on the 11,375 persons aged 25-74 from the Nutrition Component of the survey. Multivariate techniques are used to examine the independent and interactive association of age, sex, marital status, income and living arrangements with indicators of food consumption and dietary intake. Associations are examined between living arrangements, health status indicators, general well-being and dietary measures. The intervening nature of health status and general well-being is examined. This is the first study on a broad based sample of U.S. adults to provide information on the implication of living alone on dietary patterns of the elderly.